Location via proxy:   [ UP ]  
[Report a bug]   [Manage cookies]                
Everand Logo

Welcome to Everand!

  • Discover millions of ebooks, audiobooks, and so much more with a free trial

    From $11.99/month after trial. Cancel anytime.

    Hope
    Hope
    Hope
    Ebook184 pages53 minutes

    Hope

    By Joshua Williams

    ()

    Read preview

    About this ebook

    Located in the southwest corner of Arkansas, in one of the oldest counties of the state, the town of Hope has reflected the industrial vision of the New South since 1873 when the first lots were sold by the Cairo and Fulton Railroad Company. Hope has been home to nationally known politicians Bill Clinton and Mike Huckabee; acclaimed musicians like Patsy Montana; entrepreneur Paul Klipsch of Klipsch Speakers; and the farmer of the f44-year world-record watermelon, O. D. Middlebrooks. From thriving banks and local businesses to brickyards and handle factories, the people and places of Hope reflect the industrial nature and vision of a New South railroad town combined with the charm of small-town America.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherArcadia Publishing
    Release dateSep 18, 2012
    ISBN9781439626269
    Hope

    Read more from Joshua Williams

    Related to Hope

    Related ebooks

    Photography For You

    View More
    View More

    Related podcast episodes

    Related articles

    • UNLIMITED

      Lost and Found

      Sep 19, 2019

      Lost and Found
      6 min read

    • UNLIMITED

      Canned Salmon and China Lily

      Dec 15, 2024

      Canned Salmon and China Lily
      6 min read

    • UNLIMITED

      Cast in Iron?

      Apr 2, 2020

      Cast in Iron?
      7 min read

    • UNLIMITED

      West Words

      Sep 29, 2020

      ‘The greater portion of the laborers employed by us are Chinese, who constitute a large element in the population of California. Without them it would be impossible to complete the western portion of this great national enterprise within the time req

      3 min read

    • UNLIMITED

      Pieces Of History: The Story Of Gee’s Bend

      Aug 4, 2021

      Quilts are what propelled the small community of Gee’s Bend into the headlines, so it is fitting their quilts tell the Gee’s Bend tale… Long before the quilts of Gee’s Bend hung in museums of Fine Art, the women of Boykin, Alabama were making quilt

      6 min read

    • UNLIMITED

      The Native American Experience

      Aug 14, 2020

      The Native American Experience
      9 min read

    • UNLIMITED

      Looking Forward

      Sep 6, 2018

      II am pleased to introduce Aimee Greenaway, our newest addition to British Columbia History magazine. Aimee hails from Nanaimo, and will be taking over the reins as Book Review Editor in coming months. I asked her in this column to tell us a little a

      10 min read

    • UNLIMITED

      TEXANA Making Space

      Jul 18, 2023

      TEXANA Making Space
      5 min read

    • UNLIMITED

      Accessing BC History in 2020

      Dec 4, 2020

      Accessing BC History in 2020
      11 min read

    • UNLIMITED

      The California Dream Is Dying

      Jul 21, 2021

      The California Dream Is Dying
      29 min read

    • UNLIMITED

      Before Juneteenth

      Jun 17, 2024

      Before Juneteenth
      9 min read

    • UNLIMITED

      State Of The State 200

      Jul 27, 2021

      State Of The State 200
      21 min read

    • UNLIMITED

      A Yankee Whig in Milwaukee

      Jun 5, 2018

      A Yankee Whig in Milwaukee
      23 min read

    • UNLIMITED

      On Vacation with BC History

      Jun 4, 2019

      Books on British Columbia’s history are summer sidekicks for many of us. Packed into suitcases and taken on vacation, tucked into a bag and carted off to the beach, or read at home without switching on a lamp in the sunny evening hours. I usually sta

      10 min read

    • UNLIMITED

      Freedom Towns

      Nov 23, 2023

      Freedom Towns
      23 min read

    • UNLIMITED

      Homecoming

      Apr 30, 2024

      Homecoming
      2 min read

    • UNLIMITED

      Blueprint for Reconstruction

      Aug 15, 2023

      Blueprint for Reconstruction
      5 min read

    • UNLIMITED

      Sojourns Through History

      May 28, 2024

      Our yearly pilgrimage to a favorite American history destination is more than a family tradition—it’s a reminder “that the future may learn from the past.” That’s the mission statement for Colonial Williamsburg, Virginia, where we have made so many w

      6 min read

    • UNLIMITED

      The Emancipation Trail

      Oct 27, 2022

      The Emancipation Trail
      5 min read

    Related categories

    Reviews for Hope

    0 ratings

    0 ratings0 reviews

    What did you think?

    Tap to rate

    Review must be at least 10 words

      Book preview

      Hope - Joshua Williams

      (HVCM).

      INTRODUCTION

      Of all the towns in the United States, one can say the name and someone automatically picks up on the line, I still believe in a place called Hope. Those words, stated by Bill Clinton in his acceptance speech for the Democratic nomination for president in 1992, brought the town of Hope to the forefront of history. Despite political preferences, the line rings true to the nature and story of Hope, the town. Throughout its history, Hope has always been a place where people have come from all over to make a new life for themselves and to have hope in making a future.

      The town began with the Cairo and Fulton Railroad, which established the location where the town was to be located on Prairie De Roan. On February 1, 1872, the first passenger train pulled by the steam engine Roswell Beebe pulled into the location of the station being built by railroad employees. James. M. Loughborough was the land commissioner for the Cairo and Fulton and decided that the established stop would be named after his daughter, Hope. A plat of the new town of Hope was then designed, and the first lots were sold on August 28, 1873. One of the first owners of land in the new town was a Civil War veteran from Michigan named Walter Shiver. He built the first house in town near the depot in 1873. On April 8, 1875, the town of Hope was officially incorporated, and the first city officials were elected on May 14.

      Hope was truly a major rail hub in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. In 1874, the Cairo and Fulton Railroad was reorganized and the main line became known as the St. Louis, Iron Mountain, and Southern Railroad. By 1902, three other railroad branches intersected in Hope with the St. Louis and San Francisco Line (Frisco) coming into Hope from Oklahoma, the Louisiana and Arkansas Line connecting Hope to Shreveport, Louisiana, and the Arkansas and Louisiana Line, also known as the Nashville branch, connecting the town to Nashville, Arkansas. In 1917, the St. Louis, Iron Mountain, and Southern Railroad, after bankruptcy, was reorganized and changed officially to the Missouri Pacific Railroad Company.

      With the formation of this new town came many different gentlemen and families to make new lives. After retiring from the steamboat business in 1876, Capt. Judson T. West moved to Hope. He helped form a bank and lumberyard and later pushed for ways for the community to produce electricity, resulting in a municipally owned utility plant. Nathaniel P. O’Neal moved to Hope around 1908 and helped establish one of the most respected brickyards in the region, using the clay soil in the land south of town. Henry C. Yerger arrived in 1886 and became one of the leading African American educators west of the Mississippi. Each of these men came from a different background yet embodied the dream that the town of Hope inspired.

      Reflecting on growing up in Hope in the 1890s, Tom McMath described it as a town unique in every way. Even though it was in the South, it had a western feeling to it since everyone who lived in Hope was originally from some other town across the United States. McMath went on to describe that there were no antebellum traditions in Hope. The town was altogether new, and everyone who lived there was like a pioneer, working hard to build and make a new life. This was the character and dream of Hope.

      People from all different walks of life came together and formed churches, civic clubs, and community events. Industries of all types and sizes were established, making Hope a potential place to settle. After several decades of debate, Hope was made the seat of Hempstead County in 1939, and a new courthouse was erected. In 1941, before the beginning of World War II, the federal government purchased large tracts of land north of Hope for the testing of air and ground munitions. Residents on this site had to leave their homes. This brought Hope new residents who were looking for a place to live and jobs for people already there.

      Over its history, Hope has been reliant on an agricultural economy. One of the things it is best known for is its large watermelons. In 1935, Oscar D. Middlebrooks and his sons grew the world’s largest watermelon at 195 pounds—a record lasting 45 years. The record for growing large watermelons continues to this day with Lloyd Bright growing a watermelon reaching 268.8 pounds in 2005.

      Over the past years, different famous people who have impacted the United States have had roots in Hope. With each of these individuals, the dream of the New South town of Hope—that you can become whatever you wish to be despite your background—is reflected in their lives. That has been the nature of the town of Hope. From its beginning as a railroad town, people were coming here to excel in a new enterprise. That thought continues in much of the town today.

      In this collection of photographs, I hope to give just a glimpse of the diversity of the town of Hope and its history. The photographs have been divided into chapters focusing on people, community, commerce, celebrations, and celebrities that came out of the community. The town is a product of a New South mentality that embraces much of the industrialism of the North that brought people together from all over the

      Enjoying the preview?
      Page 1 of 1